It is proper for us to open our mind and to judge all people favorably, even in a manner that is far-fetched. It is never proper to forget that in any war of ideas, after the agitation has passed, those who are critical-minded can find light and shadow on both sides. And, in the spirit of the knowledge and fear of Hashem, will know that all of the travails of man and all mortal reason and their effects in the world, whether large or small, all is set and ordered by He who created all the generations, in order to help and improve the slumbering world, to [cause its] light to rise and to remove its darkness. ... And this idea - even though it [should not] keep us from fighting on behalf of Holiness, Truth, and all that which is dear to us - will nonetheless save us from falling into the trap of pettiness, disrespect, and severity. [Thus,] we will always be full of brave spirit, peace of the soul and trust in Hashem who loves Truth ...

Rav Kook demands that we remain open to new ideas. That we tolerate those with whom we disagree while simultaneously vigorously fight for what we see as the Truth. The question is, however, how far should this tolerance go? Could not such a tolerance serve our enemies and allow them to take advantage of our good intensions? In another letter, Rav Kook teaches us the limits of tolerance (אגרות, ח"ג עמ' קנו-קנז):

Tolerance is a source of life. However, what case are we dealing with? At a time when [tolerance] comes from purity of ethical thought, which can never be clarified except through the clear recognition of the essence of the life of the nation and [the national] soul that results from it. However, when [tolerance] comes from softness of heart and weakness of spirit, it becomes a deadly and destructive poison which will bring nothing but bitter zealousness as harsh as death. And [those who are harshly zealous] will be the very same who raised the flag of tolerance [before] ... [This is] because tolerance that comes to block the path of the vital forces that stand in opposition to that which will destroy the very foundation of the soul of our nation, and [instead] inject a spirit of confusion into its life struggles, [such a tolerance] is analogous to the tolerance of a man who sees the honor of his household being treaded on by every villain and thug, and in his weakness, he [becomes] dull and silent.

softness of the heart is also among those traits that are forbidden, it is the child of sadness and tiredness from whose venom we must guard ourselves. We must arm ourselves with strength when we recognize that our intentions are pure and strait and that our path is the path of Hashem. G-d forbid that we should desire to be acceptable to all people, even those who are likable and praiseworthy.

We see the actual implementation of both of these traits in the life of Rav Kook. We see in the ways of Maran HaRav Zt"l that he constantly treaded on both the paths of extreme tolerance and extreme zealousness. We see that while he gave strong rebuke to those who went on paths foreign to the Torah (אגרות ח"ב דף ל', עמ' ק', עמ' קכז ועוד; מאמרי הראי"ה, עמ' 341, 351-352 כמו בענין כפר גנים), at the same time tried to give the sinners the benefit of the doubt (אגרות, ח"א עמ' שיא; מאמרי הראי"ה, עמ' 85, 288).

This attitude of the Rav led to fierce criticism from all sides. On the right they accused him of softness and of validating the sins of the non-religious. On the left they accused him of rebuking too harshly and pushing the non-religious farther away. Rav Kook, however persisted in following the derech haEmet, the path of truth, not compromising with the left nor with the right. Thus he writes to one of the great mystics of the day (אגרות, ח"א עמ' שב):

We should not get excited by those who wish to increase the side of [harsh] judgment, even if they are righteous and great in Torah.

I believe that the derech of Rav Kook is what we need in today’s world. An approach where tolerance and passion can coexist and where respect and zealousness be channeled in constructive and beautiful ways. כן יהי רצון

About Me

I am a simple Jew who takes the Torah seriously. I welcome any suggestions or comments regarding this blog. Please keep in mind that the best way to convince a fundamentalist such as myself is through Torah sources. All appeals to my western sensitivities (I don't really have many) will be met with a degree of resistance. Feel free to email me at chardal613@hotmail.com